Mat 12:44 Then he says, I will return to my house from where I came; and when he arrives, he finds [it] empty, swept, and garnished.
An alternative version based on the original Greek: Then he realizes, I will return to my family from where I came; and when he arrives, he finds leisure, cleanliness, and order.
Think of this as the story of the prodigal son. The context here is the "unclean spirit," which is at once a demon that has been cast out, the bad things that come out of people, and the lack of faith that demands a outward sign. The unclean spirit goes out, finds nothing, and then returns. This bad stuff comes out of people, looking for something rewarding, but it doesn't find anything. So, then what? The bad stuff boomerangs. It returns to its source, which is like a home or family. The reception by this source was better than its receptionin in the outside world.
As an aside, people debate whether demons really exist. Having dealt for a long-time with people who have addictions (I work with a group of halfway houses), I came to think that it was more productive to think about fighting alchoholism and drug addiction as battles against demons who had control over part of your brain. I know a lot of religious people get excited if you deny"the supernatural" but to me everything is natural because it is created by God. What we call "supernatural" is just stuff that we don't understand, which is pretty much of everything. Could it include entire classes of beings that we don't understand? Sure, it could include entire levels of reality we don't understand.
"Says" is from legô, which means "to pick up," "to choose for one's self," "to count," "to say," "to speak," "to recite," and a lot more things but you get the idea.
"House" is from oikia, which means "building," "house," "family," and "household."
"Return" is epistrephô , which means "to turn around," "turn about," "to turn towards home," "to return," and "to turn ones mind towards."
"Empty" is scholazô, which means "to loiter," "to be at leisure," and "to be unoccupied."
"Swept" is saroô, which means "to sweep," "to clean" or "swept."
"Garnished" is kosmeô, which means "arrange," "order," "prepare," "adorn," and "equip."
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